And that's why Harvey, for all his perceived coaching sins – and, in hindsight, you'd have to say playing Matthew Pavlich too far up the ground for too long was the most glaring of them – deserves some recognition right now.

The following is a list of players who played in Saturday night's extraordinary win over Geelong who were drafted by Fremantle and blooded during Harvey's time as head coach:

But that's a pretty fair collection of horses to leave in the stable for the next guy - especially when you consider Aaron Sandilands blossomed as an All-Australian in Harvey's tenure and David Mundy went from a player who sometimes looked like he was loafing to Freo's most complete midfielder.

There is one name I've intentionally left off the list above. Adam McPhee.

On a scale of much malignity – where, say, Rowan Jones was a one and Tom Swift is a 10 – McPhee must have played much of his past six or seven seasons around the five-mark.

Among Essendon fans, who contend that he never went on from his 2004 All-Australian season and then was disloyal in moving to Fremantle, he's been an odd (and conflicting) mix of underachiever and Judas.

To Freo supporters, he's been, at least until this season, symbolic of Harvey's fetish for recruiting ex-Bombers.

The list of "accepted facts" about McPhee goes something like this: makes occasionally terrible decisions, looks more like Skeletor than any other player in VFL/AFL history, can't kick, has no subtlety and has been living off one fluke year at Essendon.

It's hard to argue with the decision making or Skeletor bits – although I'm growing more partial to comparisons with The Thing from the Fantastic Four – but there are counterpoints to the rest of that list.

Recent viewers of Better Homes And Gardens, for instance, will know that the McPhee, he of supposedly limited delicacy of touch, builds a pretty refined cubby-house for his kids.

That "fluke" season for the Bombers resulted in a club best-and-fairest at age 21, in a team in which Matthew Lloyd kicked 96 goals. McPhee also missed the last three games of the season so, if it was a fluke, it must have been a pretty epic one.

In five of his 12 AFL seasons, including this year, McPhee has kicked the ball at more than 80 per cent efficiency. Apart from two shocking years on his return to Freo (65.4 and 53.5 per cent), he's never dipped below 72 per cent.

I don't want so say this next bit too loudly, because it might upset the neighbours when they have more important things to worry about (like not getting shellacked by Collingwood this week).

But if you assessed McPhee fairly on his past 12 weeks, put him in a blue-and-gold jumper and called him Beau, he'd be a walk-up start for the All-Australian shortlist.

None of this, of course, means that we can't still get a giggle out of the video below, presumably put together by an Essendon fan with a significant amount of time on his hands.

It's just that, in the interests of fairness, we now need to balance out the bloopers with some under-appreciated stuff, like the six intercept marks McPhee had in Luke McPharlin's absence on Saturday night.

Lyon has been at pains recently to defend another much-maligned player in Zac Dawson, saying he'd back his own knowledge ahead of public opinion to measure the full-back's effectiveness.

8 comments so far

oh carn, it is a bit too soon to say he is the best coach ever.

I always said freo were right to sack Harvey, not that there was any thing wrong with him, he was just the wrong coach for the team. I still think however, that Gerad Neesham was the best ever coach. try and argue, I dare you, but no other freo coach has change the Great Game as Neesham did with the introduction of 'the running game', or as we know it now, the flood

Commenter

pene

Location

perth

Date and time

September 11, 2012, 3:03PM

You won't get me saying a bad word about Gerard being a Claremont supporter. The only thing I'll say is that he tried to play the footy of the future with too many players who weren't up to AFL standard. If he hadn't recruited so many Tigers, I may never have followed the Dockers. But he might also have coached a team into the finals!

Commenter

Simon White

Date and time

September 11, 2012, 3:11PM

So Harvey was the wrong coach for the team, yet Neesham was the right coach despite the best season finish of 12th under 3 years of his tutelage? I agree that Neesham was ahead of his time, but what use is a brilliant strategy if your team are unable to deliver?

Rather than make subjective assessments, why don't we consider the facts? On a win/loss basis, Ross Lyon is the most successful Fremantle coach with a ratio of 64% (next best is Connolly with 52%) while Neesham had 36%. In terms of achievement, Connolly took the team from last to finals in 2 years, and twice lifted the team by more than 7 places from the preceding year (Harvey did this once). Connolly was also the longest serving coach. Like it or not, Connolly has helped the Dockers achieve more than any other coach to date. But I suspect his efforts will be surpassed by Ross Lyon over the coming 12 months.

Commenter

jj

Location

perth

Date and time

September 11, 2012, 8:41PM

ok but lets do a comparison of entry teams. GWS and Gold Coast havbe had a stupid amount of consessions given to them. GWS also have an immense amount of experience and intelligence in their coaching. still they both arm the bottom spots. Port Adelaide in the SANFL spent over a season prior to their entry into the AFL recuiting players to their SANFL team to play in their first season of AFL.As soon as their was an incling that would be a second AFL team in WA, the west coke eagles signed all their former south fremantle and east fremantle players to long term contracts (most til 1999). because the club was built from multiple teams, it didnt have the ability to set up like port did. so freo was built from the dregs of the WAFL.Winning any games is impressive. winning 8 and 7 in the first two seasons... well even with every advantage GWS and GC had, they couldn't do that. the combined greatness of Sheedy and Williams couldn't do that

it should also be taken into consideration that they had no proper training facilities and the Administration of the team at the tiem were too concerned with making money than building a club. when the Administration treat the club as a business rather than a community organisation, then it will hurt the club.

Commenter

pene

Location

perth

Date and time

September 12, 2012, 12:21PM

OK Pene, lets draw swords about Gerard.I reckon that Gerard Neesham as coach was the reason why Fremantle was such a dismal failure for so long, and has had a 'losing' culture in the club that we are still fighting to break. Yes, the 'chip and draw' was revolutionary - and his work with aboriginal kids since his Dockers days is legendary - but his coaching strategy was to build a team of 25-28 year olds (akin to the french foreign legion) and add a few kids. We all know it was a dismal failure, and the draft failures (ie Andrew McLeod) are now folklore. The 'Fremantle Method' is now commonly acknowledged as the way NOT to set up an expansion team - as seen by the strategies implemented by GWS and Gold Coast, not to mention Port Adelaide before them.P.S. - Sorry for getting off track Simon, but my button was pressed!!

Commenter

Back Pocket

Location

Mandurah

Date and time

September 11, 2012, 6:15PM

All very fair points Back Pocket. I'd have loved to see those early Freo teams play with McLeod and Jeff Farmer (originally traded away for Phil Gilbert!)...

Commenter

Simon White

Date and time

September 11, 2012, 6:20PM

I think more the problem with Neesham, Drum and even Connolly was that the administration was too much in control of the coaching. Decisions on who remains in the the playing group next season and who plays this week has to be 100% up to the coach and not up to some financial accountant using the club as a money making venture. Many times I watched players go out on the ground who you knew were injured, you knew were out of form, but you knew were only out there because they get paid the same whether they played or not.

The Steves are not really much better, but they have got one thing right, the coach. they still augment the club and the colours to sell more guernseys and make money, they still manipulate the fans and the freo council, but they have the right coach

Commenter

pene

Location

perth

Date and time

September 11, 2012, 9:22PM

Very good post So Harvey was the wrong coach for the team, yet Neesham was the right coach despite the best season finish of 12th under 3 years of his tutelage? I agree that Neesham was ahead of his time, but what use is a brilliant strategy if your team are unable to deliver,Rather than make subjective assessments, why don't we consider the facts? On a win/loss basis, Ross Lyon is the most successful Fremantle coach with a ratio of 64% (next best is Connolly with 52%) while Neesham had 36%. In terms of achievement, Connolly took the team from last to finals in 2 years, and twice lifted the team by more than 7 places from the preceding year (Harvey did this once). Connolly was also the longest serving coach. Like it or not, Connolly has helped the Dockers achieve more than any other coach to date.

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